


All the Small Things

by Shangalangalang



Category: Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: 4 Years Later, Bluepulse, Drabble, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 18:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2591918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shangalangalang/pseuds/Shangalangalang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all the small things that made Bart love Jaime even more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the Small Things

It was the small things that made Bart unable to get angry at Jaime.

X

Bart Allen had a habit of waking up early. And though he didn’t seem like the type to do such things, he actually woke up way earlier than Jaime did in the mornings- usually about 3 hours worth of early, even. It wasn’t the crashest thing in the world, but seeing Jaime’s sleeping face and feeling his strong arm draped across Bart’s own stomach made it worth all the while.

And then the reminiscing began.

It had been four long years since Bart had first landed in the past, and even now it felt like a dream. Like some sort of twisted dream where everything was okay, because it sure as Hell wasn’t okay back where he used to live. And sometimes he was scared that he would wake up from this dream, this safe haven, and be thrown back into that disgusting timeline he was forced to go through at such a young age.

Without warning, his mind would always shift towards the Blue Beetle in the alternate timeline that would now never happen. Bart had to admit, the first time he saw Jaime, he didn’t realize who Jaime actually was. Not until Jaime had spoken up about Ted Kord and how we would never get to meet his predecessor did Bart come to the conclusion that this guy was in fact the Blue Beetle he had been searching for. It was a complete shock for Bart. He had expected the Blue Beetle of his timeline- big, brawny, gruff, and terrifying- and that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Jaime was nothing like that.

Bart had been angry. He had been angry for a long time. He was determined to seek out and eradicate the monster who enslaved his people and tortured him for the longest time. He was ready to put an end to it immediately and then devise a plan to go back to the future he came from. He was prepared for the consequences of his actions.

He did not expect Blue Beetle to be a scared, lost, and lonely- not to mention quite attractive- Hispanic guy who knew just as much about his powers as the rest of the world did. Something changed from that day on. Bart found himself no longer able to be angry at Jaime, or who Jaime was supposed to be. Because when Jaime put on that armor, he looked nothing like the dictator from Bart’s time that would inevitably enslave the entire human race. He looked like Jaime, and Jaime wasn’t a bad guy.

Bart just couldn’t be angry. Not even when Jaime lost control of the scarab to the Reach and began acting differently, brushing off the team for his own fame. Not even when Jaime knocked him out with the crystal key and proceeded to sabotage the rest of the team. Not even when Jaime pinned him to the wall with his pincers and almost killed him. Because deep down, he always knew that it wasn’t Jaime’s fault.

And even when Jaime was completely free of Reach control, Bart was still sort of wary around his buddy. He didn’t know what that scarab had in mind for Jaime, and hoped it wouldn’t be the cause of Jaime’s downfall. So far, the scarab had been good, though Jaime would continuously argue with himself and make himself look kinda crazy to the rest of the Team. It took a few months, but it finally came to the point where Bart was comfortable enough with his friend again that they began to hang out like before the Reach controlled the scarab. They made nightly trips to the desert, sometimes just smashing things and other times just watching the stars. Sometimes Jaime brought blankets so they could just lie down and talk about life.

Ironically, that very desert was when they first confessed to each other. When Jaime became 19, they somehow deemed it as “legal for drinking” and they spent a lot of time in the desert sand with the alcohol in their systems, before Bart blurted out in complete intoxication his feelings for Jaime. And Jaime immediately reciprocated. Of course, they avoided each other for weeks after that. Jaime would always stick around Zatanna and Rocket whenever Bart came around, and Bart, in turn, tried his best to tune into Gar and Tim’s boring banter whenever Jaime walked by. It was a while before the two idiots finally came to the conclusion that they were being ridiculous, and they admitted their feelings for each other in the same place they first did in a drunken stupor.

No one was surprised.

“About time,” Superboy grunted when he found out. M’Gann elbowed him and said something about “being happy for other people”. Tim and Cassie were mad at Bart for not telling them. Rocket, Zatanna, and the rest of the girls teased Jaime for days. Gar was confused because he didn’t know Bart was capable of feeling emotions for anything other than Chicken Whizees.

They had been steady for almost three years now, even living together and going to the same college. They had discussed retirement, but neither of them could go a day without getting antsy over the smallest crime.

In truth, however, Bart wished for Jaime to step down, because he didn’t want to risk losing him again. His thoughts would trail off to the Blue Beetle of his time once more, and then the nasty cycle of reminiscing about the future would start again.

These thoughts usually plagued his mind every morning. They were good and they were bad. Call it trauma or stress, but it was certainly a moding experience that Bart could have done well without. The thoughts stayed, without pity for Bart and without mercy. They danced in his mind, they tortured him, they taunted him, and they wouldn’t let up.

But it was the small things that made Bart better.

Slowly, Jaime would stir from sleep. The years had been good to him; whereas he was once a lankier kid four years ago, Jaime had grown to be a muscular, taller guy with a defined face, jawline, and most importantly, the little bit of stubble on his chin that Bart would always tease him about when in reality, he was the one who enjoyed it the most. When Jaime woke up, he didn’t do it in wholes- he did it in sections. His grip on Bart would get tighter and he would slowly roll over on top of his boyfriend, resting his face in the nook of Bart’s shoulder. Bart would just let it happen- he grew used to the slow way Jaime did things, and frankly, he appreciated it. It granted him reprieve from the thoughts that ran through his mind. If anything, Jaime understood- after all, he was always fighting mentally with that scarab of his, who told him to basically kill anyone who bumped into him on the streets.

Jaime wouldn’t move for another 5 minutes, breathing so steadily and serenely that Bart would completely forget about the tyrant of his time. Then Jaime would shift, his bare chest rising and falling, as he moved to pin Bart down into the pillows and give him a kiss. Sometimes Bart would feel generous and let him, other days he liked to tease him and dodge away on purpose. That would get Jaime irritated, and boy did Bart love seeing that irritated crease between his eyebrows. This morning, however, he was feeling nice. He closed his eyes and let Jaime do what he wanted.

“ _Buenos dias_ , _mi amor_ ,” Jaime mumbles, nipping at Bart’s jawline.

“Um, sorry, her-man-o, I don’t speak Es-pan-ol.” Bart grins, because he knows how much it annoys Jaime when he pronounces things wrong on purpose. This was their usual morning banter.

“We’ve been together three years, you should at least know to say _hermano_ without the h sound.” Jaime scolds, withholding a kiss from Bart until he got his facts straight. And he would, because Jaime’s kisses were the best things in the world, second to Chicken Whizzees only. It would be so mode if he lost them. Luckily, Jaime wasn’t a mean person.

"What, and I get off free for Es-pan-ol?" Bart teases. "Maybe I should start butchering Spanish more, so you scold me more, because you're kinda sexy when you do th-"

He's shut up by Jaime's lips on his own. A relationship could do that to a person. And it was a very effective way to silence the rambling speedster when Jaime needed some quiet.

“What time is it?” Jaime asks after a lazy makeout session. Bart turns his head and squints at the clock.

“It’s like 8 in the morning, and classes start at nine. You gotta get up, buddy,” Bart rolls his eyes. For some reason, people tended to think that Bart was the lazy one in this relationship. In reality, he had to threaten Jaime with promises of spending the night at the Cave with Gar and Tim if he didn’t get his ass out of bed and make him food.

“We have time.” Jaime says casually. Bart honestly loved it when Jaime just woke up; his voice had a groggier tone, and for some reason, his accent would be thicker and pure music to Bart’s ears. He loved it when Jaime spoke Spanish in general, even though he usually had no idea what Jaime was saying. He remembered one drunken evening after finals he told Jaime about his language kink, and that turned out to be a pretty crash night.

“You’re heavy.” Bart frowns. He was always smaller than Jaime, but Jaime had grown not only in height but also in mass over the years. That isn’t to say Bart didn’t, but Jaime would always overpower him in that area.

“And you look tired. Were you up early again, _hermano_?” Sometimes Bart forgot how observant Jaime actually was. And with them living together, sleeping in the same bed, there really wasn’t much they could hide from each other.

Jaime finds Bart’s hands with his own and interlocks their fingers. Bart shudders, not because he hated the sensation but because he doesn’t want to answer. Not today. He nods, and that’s all Jaime needs to know.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Bart always appreciated Jaime’s ability to read the mood. Some mornings, Bart would explain for hours on end about his thoughts, and Jaime would listen, no matter how late they were running for class. Sometimes they wouldn’t even get there, because Bart would be so shaken up and Jaime would be too busy comforting the speedster in his arms, whispering assurances and words of love that would get Bart everytime.

But sometimes, Bart just didn’t want to talk. Sometimes he would just feel like shit, and Jaime would always somehow _know_. And he would never press on. He knew when Bart needed his space. He knew when to back off. And the fact that he changed subjects so quickly, easily, and casually made Bart’s chest swell with pride because he literally found the best boyfriend in the entire world.

It really was all the small things Jaime did that made Bart love him. The way he knew when to stop, the way he knew when to go, the way he knew what Bart wanted and when, the way he kissed Bart, and the way he loved Bart. All those small things were really the reasons why Bart could never get truly angry with Jaime, because he knew it was impossible. And maybe that was why they met the way they did, and why Bart couldn’t bring himself to be angry. It was just all the small things.

**Author's Note:**

> this is like 2 years late but whatever because bluepulse has taken over my life man


End file.
